Chapter 4 – The Motions
After their initial go in the gravity room, to see where the limit of their tolerance was, Roane had disabled the screen that showed them how much gravity they were working under. Apparently it was all part of his plan for enhancing their "situational awareness", but honestly, Gohan thought he just enjoyed getting the drop on them. Sometimes literally. Without the flashing screen, there was no way to tell a change in gravity was coming up. Their reflexes were becoming honed to catching the extra weight, or pushing with greater force at a moments notice, since they never knew when it might hit.
Roane still didn't think it was enough though, and was stationing them in the second chamber of the gravity room for what he called "Enhanced Combat Maneuvers" today. His normal routine had become pushing them as hard as possible under the most gravity they could handle each morning, until they were ready to collapse. Then they'd spend the rest of the day doing things around the base that even though they seemed mundane, were incredibly taxing on their tired bodies at that point. That way they had discipline, but with a certain amount of unpredictability thrown in too. They never knew if they'd be running around the base's perimeter for the rest of the day, or cleaning the mess hall, or some combination thereof.
These little surprise sessions were always memorable as well... Gohan groaned internally, remembering the first obstacle course, but knew better than to let any such emotion show on his face. Roane was still watching them, even if he wasn't in the room.
"Today's exercise will be aerial. The more hits you take, the more time you get to spend digging holes this afternoon" Roane's voice informed and warned them over the loudspeaker. Gohan glanced around, but even upon a second inspection of the room, he didn't see anything that could qualify as a 'course' for them to go through... Then the gravity kicked in, and at that exact moment he felt something small splat against the back of his arm. Even as he took to the air, more were sailing through the spot where he'd stood just a moment ago. He didn't dare wipe his hand over the area to 'see' what it was he'd been hit with, in case it turned out to be some sort of burning or itching agent again. Instead he just focused as best he could on not getting hit with anymore of them.
Mirai was hit right in the shin with the first paintball, it's neon yellow payload breaking over him painlessly. At least he hoped it was traditional paint. As the gravity changed around them, Mirai realized this was going to be a messy one. The change in force made him over compensate a bit and get hit by a projectile he thought for sure he'd get around... Damn. Bright, crisp white made itself known across his chest. He would have taken the time to sigh if it had been under different circumstances. As he dodged and ducked through the air, he wondered if the number of hits would be specifically tied to the number of holes they had to dig, or just determine the duration of the digging. He guessed it didn't really matter. They needed to get faster, quicker, and stronger; so if they weren't able to pass Roane's test to his satisfaction, then they did need to be pushed further.
From the control room, Roane concentrated on the screen in front of him, not bothering to keep track of his previous hits, since the computer would do that for him. It also was programmed to pick random lengths of time and varying degrees of gravity to switch between as it cycled through the session. Roane snorted out loud when the randomization made the artificial gravity drop all the way down to 1 G. Both Gohan and Mirai were too close to the ceiling when it happened, causing them both to smack into it before they could adjust. He fired a series of shots at them as he saw it happening, pegging each of them at least twice, and chuckling to himself. This was way better than any video game he'd ever played.
They were able to dodge his attacks easily with no extra gravity, but it wouldn't last forever. The next randomization kicked in, pulling them back down to reality, and making Roane's job a lot easier. Even though the chamber could go all the way up to 1000G's, Roane had set it so the gravity wouldn't go past 550G's, which was their current tolerance level. They didn't know it though, since the only indication they had of how much gravity they'd been in was how tired they were, and Roane made sure they were pretty much exhausted all the time. They did get a day off to rest, so he didn't worry about pushing them too much. It wasn't like they couldn't take it. He'd been increasing the number of G's on them at a steady rate, and they'd been keeping up perfectly.
Roane had tried it once himself, out of curiosity. He had made sure the computer would cut out at his much lower limit, just in case, and tried working out in first two, then three, all the way up to five times gravity, before he started having problems. Since he was good with computers himself, and hadn't hesitated to fiddle around with it a little. Gohan had helped build the thing anyway, so he figured that even if he did get something crossed, a relatively quick fix was there to be had. It was interesting though, when he'd been messing around with the internal calibrations, he'd found something odd. Not in the technology itself, that was pretty straight forward once it had been explained to him, but regarding the definitions he'd come across in the root menu. There were all sorts of parameters programmed into the thing, with the default setting at "Normal". But the one below that though, was called "Human", which in and of itself was strange, but in addition to that, all the higher settings read "SSJ" with a number after them... What the heck was that supposed to mean? It was beyond him to worry or care about it too much though. Probably some special Capsule Corp acronym that related to this particular invention.
After a few hours of this, Roane brought their current session out of the randomized program, and switched it to a steady 551G's. Both Gohan and Mirai struggled to stay afloat in the weight, their reaction times cut to abysmal. Roane pegged each of them a dozen times, pretty much in a row, just to prove his point, then ended the simulation altogether. Pushing away from the controls, he went to address them in the chamber. It was standard procedure for them to be allowed to lay on the floor in a puddle of their own sweat and rest for the few seconds that it took Roane to get in there. So when he opened the door they were just as he expected, Gohan on his back panting, and Mirai on his knees in much the same state.
"Horrifying" Roane said as a general statement. Both of them groaned and got to their feet. Damn, Gohan had hoped they hadn't done too badly, until the end that was. He definitely didn't miss the statement made in that last succession of taps. They needed to be trying harder.
"I wonder" Roane began, walking over to them, "if the penalty had been that I killed a small, fuzzy, animal for every hit, if you would have done better?"
Gohan's face was a mixture of anger and then shame as he was mortified by such an idea, but at the same time, now found himself questioning his own performance. Mirai stared resolutely at the opposite wall. But he did wince a little when Roane said the word "killed".
"And what if it wasn't an animal, hm?" Roane continued to drawl, "What if for every hit, your mother got punched, or kicked, or stabbed? What if failure meant that somebody died? Would you still have given it what you did just now?" Roane knew he was being harsh with them, but he'd seen what there were capable of, and could tell their 'hearts just weren't in it today', and that was about to fucking change. Now Gohan was staring directly forward, with a dark look in his eyes, while Mirai had silent tears streaming down is face.
"What if the holes you're going to go dig right now were to bury all the people you've just let down?" he asked them carefully, for once not yelling or swearing at them at all, though this was probably the maddest he'd been in a while. He shook his head and turned away, at a ninety degree angle to them, as if he didn't want to look at them anymore.
"Go get your shovels" he said in a dismissive tone. They filed out the door behind his back immediately, without a sound and without having answered him. They all knew what the answer was already.
While shovels were retrieved, Roane went ahead to the field where the digging would take place, carrying a load of large rocks on the back of his golf cart. He parked it in front of the pile afterward, so they weren't readily visible from the angle Gohan and Mirai would be approaching at. He normally prided himself on his improvisational skills, but he had a feeling that today he was not going to be relishing that fact. No, today was turning out to need more of an application of 'necessary evil' than anything else. Luckily, those boys had picked the right man for the job. Most of Roane's life had been one big reality check, and if they needed a dose of it to keep their motivation, then he'd shove it so far up their asses that they'd never want for 'motivation' again.
Mirai's tears had dried by the time they got the shovels out of the supply room. He was glad Gohan said nothing, he knew they were both feeling pretty much the same level of shame right now. Roane had been right, it would have made a difference. And when the moment came again, that every little bit of power counted (because those moments always came), they would have regretted not giving every single ounce before, to get stronger. That was just the way it was, that was why they were doing this. Maybe they had gotten complacent during their time here, feeling like since they were doing something, they were doing enough... Granted, it's not like their lives or schedules were by any stretch of the imagination easy... But damn, Roane's comments had really hit home, he may not have even realized how much.
When they reached him out in the field and saluted, Roane was leaning against the side of his golf cart.
"Are you an only child, Private?" Roane asked Mirai before he let them start digging.
"Uh, no sir" he answered, hesitating between the two truths momentarily.
"So how many people are in your family?"
"Five, sir, including himself."
"Alright, get started digging then, five holes" Roane instructed him. Then turning to Gohan, he asked him the same questions.
"There's five of us as well, including my grandpa, he's still alive" Gohan told him, having obviously caught the significance and wanting to be truthful.
"Ok, five holes for you as well then. And Privates, both of you, you make sure each one is six feet deep" he instructed grimly, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Yes, sir."
It had been a long time since Mirai had dug a grave. Let alone five of them. Surprisingly, as he made his way down into the earth, his resolve seemed to actually be firming with each foot of progress. He was doing the right thing. He would do the right thing, always. Whatever it took to protect his family and his friends, the Earth. From the bottom of his first hole, he couldn't see Gohan, but he hoped his love was faring as well as he was. He knew Gohan would come to the same conclusions though. Mirai began on his second grave, quickly giving Gohan an encouraging smile while he could see him. He never stopped moving though, and he never stopped digging.
His muscles screamed at him, and his back ached like it would snap in two at any moment, but Gohan pushed on. He and Mirai dug with single minded purpose, as if each shovelful was a little scoop of redemption for their past slacking off. It was emotional, to be sure, but the tears he felt brimming were actually more out of joy than anything else. Joy that there were no bodies waiting to fill these holes. He'd dig to the core of the Earth and back, happily, to avoid a fate like that. When he and Mirai had finished all five of their holes, Roane actually had to give each of them a hand up out of the last ones, they were so exhausted. Before he let them go for lunch though, he had one more task for them to complete.
"Each of you to go behind my cart and pick out five rocks from the pile there" he ordered. When they had done that, he handed each of them a piece of chalk.
"I want you to write your parent's names on the first two, and then place each one at the head of a grave" he told them, watching stoically as they did it.
"Now your siblings, and for you Gohan, your grandpa as well" he made them each place two more stones. After he had them each write their own names on the last one, he took them from their hands and then held onto them for a moment while he spoke.
"No one digs their own grave. Unless you really want to dig each others some day, I suggest you get this 'giving 100%' crap out of your heads right now. You want to live? You want your family safe and your lover to be there to wake up to every morning? Then you shouldn't be giving 100%, you should be giving til you fucking bleed, until you black out and there's not a single breath left in your body. You should be scaring me with how bad you want this, if you want him to live" Roane said, giving them the rocks with each others names on them as he said the word "him".
Their faces were so dirty from all the digging, that the drops from their eyes turned to muddy tracks down their cheeks as they set the last stones down.
"Now, go wash up for lunch and then meet me at the mess hall. You have 10 minutes" he said, driving away on his cart and leaving them behind. They walked quickly, nearly at a jog, to make it to the bathrooms in time to wash off their hands and faces before the meal. There was still too much for words between them, so Gohan simply took Mirai's hand as they went, squeezing it and earning him a small smile.
As they splashed cold water and soap inside, Mirai seemed to get transfixed by the swirl of dirt running down the drain, and Gohan gave his shoulder a squeeze, looking at him with concern.
"Sorry..." was all he said, his voice a little too soft, as if he was apologizing for much more than zoning out. Gohan pulled him into a fierce hug as his lover began crying full force.
"It's ok, Mirai, shhhh" Gohan tried to comfort him, "We won't let that happen. I won't let that happen, and you won't let that happen..." he whispered to what was left of his lavender tresses. Mirai nodded against his chest, his tears dying down after a minute. Gohan leaned down and kissed him lovingly as they turned to go, but it was two minutes too late. The door to the bathroom flew open as if it had been kicked, and an enraged Roane stood there, catching it's bounce back toward him with what looked like practiced skill...
"What the fuck, do you think you're doing?" he asked them, though it looked rather obvious from his perspective.
"No, you don't understand" Gohan stepped between Roane and Mirai instinctively, holding out a hand to ward him from coming any closer, "He's dug that grave before, you can't expect him to be ok after that" Gohan demanded, defending the man he loved. He didn't specify which of those graves he was talking about. Fuck, he probably shouldn't have said that at all... As he waited for Roane's reaction, he ran over what other meanings he could have meant by that in his head.
It all happened so quickly, that Mirai was left staring at Gohan's back where the door swinging open had been. He placed a hand on him and stepped around his side, knowing Roane wasn't any 'threat' to them, and that Gohan was just a little on edge right now.
"No, he's right" Mirai agreed with Roane, even though he hadn't said anything else yet. "Gohan, that's exactly the point of this whole thing, weakness is a luxury. I can't be letting myself give in to stuff like that, even if it's brief, not if we're serious... I'm sorry, sir" he said, addressing Roane for the last part. Gohan heard what he was saying, and realized right away that he did indeed have to accept it... Both of them did. Backing down from Roane's presence, he nodded and waited for their punishment to be dealt out.
"30 minutes" Roane had calmed down quite a bit by the time he began to speak again, "That's how much extra time I'm going to get from you every morning for the next week." He knew just how much of 'morning people' they were not, especially Mirai, so it seemed fitting.
"Yes, sir" they both chimed.
"Damn right it's 'yes, sir'," Roane was looking directly at Gohan when he said that, "Now, get over to the mess hall before I change my mind about feeding you entirely."
Not that there was normally a lot of conversation during it, but lunch today was a silent affair. Food went in mouths, and thoughts swirled in heads. Both of them questioned that it had been the full amount of time allotted for their meal when the timer went off, but looking down at the distinct lack of food left made them begin to believe. Talk about lost in thought... Mirai felt Gohan's hand slip into his again.
"There's nowhere that I'd rather be" he smiled and whispered to him as they headed back out. That brought a smile to Mirai's face, and a little of the light back into his eyes.
"This was all my idea, wasn't it?" he joked mildly, knowing Gohan wasn't blaming him at all for their emotional trial today, just trying to make the mood a little lighter.
"Well, I think I deserve a little of the credit too" Gohan squeezed his hand firmly one more time before they stepped outside. One more small smile between them, and they were back in front of their sergeant, awaiting his orders.
For some particular reason, this happened to be the day that the thought popped into Mirai's head to wonder when it was Roane ate his lunch. The guy was always right there waiting for them when they came out. Maybe he ate a protein bar or something while he was out here? That didn't seem like a fitting meal to Mirai, even for a regular human. Not that it was his place to ask, but now it was going to bug him... Maybe tomorrow when they ate he could get a peek out the window to see exactly what the man did while waiting for them. As they were jogging behind his golf cart to the next task for the afternoon, it also struck him that when they had to get up 30 minutes earlier, now so would Roane. Maybe he didn't mind mornings; the guy was always already in his element each morning when he woke them, that was for sure. Thinking about the life their instructor lived in between the moments they could see was better than dwelling on the past.
He was not going easy on them. Not at all. Having accidentally reduced both men to tears this morning was not a factor in his decision to spend the rest of the afternoon on activities that afforded more of a mindless repetition. Like jump rope, and working a punching bag, maybe with a few sit-ups/push-ups thrown in for good measure. He'd been livid when they hadn't shown up on time at the mess hall earlier. His automatic supposition seemed confirmed, too, when he'd opened the bathroom door. That was, until he saw the haunted look in Mirai's eyes. Connecting all the dots, he figured whoever Mirai had lost before had been more than just a friend, and obviously he'd been forced to bury the person/man himself...
Roane sighed. They wouldn't be able to hear it with all the wind whipping around him as he drove anyway. He couldn't help but wonder how old Mirai had been when all that had taken place, it obviously left some deep scars on him, that he hid really well most of the time. That could definitely become a problem though... Mirai wasn't exactly that old right now, he couldn't have been much more than a kid, from the way he'd talked about growing up in war as a child. Even if he felt the smallest twinge of empathy for them, he wouldn't let it cloud his judgment. They'd still have a hard time crawling back to bed by the end of the day, he'd make sure of it.
It was amazing how many muscles you used to jump a couple inches off the ground. Especially in their current state, and after having done it 10,000 times in a row... Most of the muscles in his legs, as well as quite a few in his back and arms, were burning so badly Mirai expected them to seize up at any moment. Only 2000 left to go now. He didn't even think about sighing anymore, instead focusing on making it through the set as quickly as possible. While he worked with the jump rope, he could see Gohan at the punching bag, swinging away determinedly, Roane watching his every move, making sure he kept up proper form even in his fatigued state.
Gohan could literally feel the sweat pouring out of him. Every thrust forward with his arm left little droplets of water in it's wake. Roane was always good with keeping them hydrated, but today had been one of the most taxing experiences they'd had in awhile, and that was saying something. He made sure the intensity of his assault on the punching bag never wavered though, and he mentally pushed himself just as hard as Roane was. Well, actually, Roane wasn't saying much, except to goad him here and there if he did slip up. Gohan's breathing was labored and his clothes soaked completely through by the time Mirai finished with his assignment. Both of them were more than happy to work a different set of muscles now, as they traded positions.
Well, Mirai had hoped it would be a little bit different set, for his arms, but he soon found they were turning to lead weights as he began pounding away at the bag. He threw a couple of horrendous jabs in a row, and Roane called him on it.
"That was fucking sloppy, Private, I wouldn't want a man who punches like that on my team, you better get fucking with it right fucking now" he shouted at him from only a few feet away.
"Sorry sir" he replied quickly, redoubling his focus. He tuned out everything but bag in front of him, not even really seeing Roane's form beside him, and attacked with much better skill. For the next 15 minutes or so anyway. Unfortunately, it had taken him many multiples of that to do 12,000 reps with the jump rope, and Gohan was not that much faster than him. He could feel his limbs slowing, even as much as he willed them not to. As his ability faltered again, Roane's presence was suddenly in the forefront of his consciousness once more.
"Is this the same way you'd defend the men who fell for you?" Roane asked him coldly, his eyes boring into him. He knew which buttons to push now, but he'd not yet discovered where the line was. And he didn't think Mirai had reached his physical limits yet either.
Roane's comment hit Mirai mid-swing, and he wasn't sure what part of it was the final straw, but he had a feeling it was the way he'd said the word 'fell'. His eyes flashed, and Gohan stopped jumping rope as Mirai's hair glowed and stood on end. The punching bag ripped off it's chain, cracking the support beam it was attached to, and sailing to crash through the wall on the other side of the room. A line of sand was left behind from it's split seams, like a trail of blood leading back to the culprit. Mirai couldn't hold the transformation though, he just didn't have enough energy left for it. As his hair sank back down, so did he, to his knees right where he was. He only managed to balance just well enough to keep from falling to his hands as well.
"I told you to push yourself, Private, but that did not include some sort of permission to destroy my gym" Roane scolded him angrily, as if Mirai was acting like he was a not-too-bright child.
"Fuck you" Mirai looked Roane right in the eye and let his anger tell their instructor exactly what he thought of his methods. The angle Roane's eyebrow shot up at let him know he was going to regret that. He could feel tears of frustration and an old pain beginning to stream down his face, but refused to let himself give in completely and sob. He started to fall over out of exhaustion, but managed to catch himself on one hand. Gohan took a step to move towards him, but Mirai waved him off. He would only make things worse if he tried to interfere... Mirai had a feeling he was going to pay dearly for the little lapse in judgment he'd just had, in swearing at their sergeant. He hoped Roane would leave Gohan out of it, since this was more like his own little private rebellion.
"Take a good look Gohan, because with tears" Roane motioned to him with a wave of his hand, "is exactly how he'll honor you too, when you're gone."
Mirai looked up at him with a stunned mixture of horror and shock on his face. His eyes flicked to Gohan, as if afraid of what he might see there. Gohan was wide-eyed and frozen, like a deer in the headlights, not sure what to do as he obeyed Roane and looked at Mirai, but clearly did not want to have to say anything.
Because he knows Roane is right, Mirai heard his own voice whispering through his head. Suddenly, he found himself standing again, wiping his tears with the backs of clenched fists, and the well of pain within him closing up. As he took deep even breaths, he also found himself staring Roane down, but not for the same reason he had earlier. The look on Roane's face was virtually unreadable.
"Follow me" he ordered curtly, obedience a given, turning on his heel and striding from the room. Mirai happened to catch another glance at Gohan as they moved, and what he saw there was worth all the pain, both physical and emotional, that he'd ever endured. Pride. Gohan was proud of him. He could see it in his eyes. He was proud of him for getting back up, moving through the pain, hell, maybe even a little for telling Roane 'fuck you' to begin with... The pride in Gohan's eyes erased any fear Mirai may have had about the upcoming punishment, and he walked out the door with the beginnings of a tired smile on his face.
Outside, Roane didn't stop at the punishments board like they thought he would. He walked right past it and headed to their barracks, with them trying desperately to keep up with his angry pace while they were so spent. They made it inside just in time to see him grab the corner of Mirai's bed frame and begin dragging it with one hand back towards the door. They both jumped out of his way as he shouted at 'Private Briefs' to grab his things. Could he get kicked out of his own program? The thought flitted through Mirai's head. He didn't think so though, besides, that wouldn't make any sense for Roane to be moving his bed then... Moving his bed? Mirai grabbed the couple piles of clothes that served for his belongings here, and quickly headed back outside.
At least the drag marks in the dirt would be easy to follow. His eyes scanning ahead of him faster than his legs could move right now, Mirai saw that Roane wasn't taking him very far, just to the empty building on the other side of the supply room. Gohan was following behind him still, not having been given any countermanding orders, but kept glancing over his shoulder to see if Mirai was close to catching up yet. Roane stopped in front of the double doors that led inside the structure, fiddling with his keys and undoing the lock on the door in silence. Mirai managed to make it to their position by the time Roane was flinging them open and pulling the bed again. This must have been another store room, but for bigger things, because it was filled with empty warehouse style scaffolding, with one wide walkway leading down the middle.
The metal frame slid much easier over the concrete floor inside. Roane swung the bed around him to let it skid across the open space of the walkway a bit. The pillow and most of the blanket fell off with the force of it, before it finally came to rest. As if he gave a flying fuck.
"For the next week you'll be sleeping in storage unit C, Private Briefs, and I'm increasing the length of the previous punishment to two weeks, for the both of you. If you don't think that's fair, then maybe you should use this time to re-evaluate just how fucking fair it would be to let the other members of your team all get killed because you couldn't hold your shit together" Roane was right in his face as Mirai held onto his sets of clothing. Moving back from him only a bit, he turned slightly so his presence could encompass both Mirai and Gohan.
"And since I am not going to make two different wake up calls every fucking morning, the both of you will be outside, standing at attention in front of the punishments board waiting for me when it's time for inspections" he informed them.
"Yes sir!" they both acknowledged.
"Now, put your shit down and get outside. Some new manual labor just got added to this afternoon's work" Roane glowered at them.
As he lead them out to a new area of the base, Roane couldn't shake the image of the punching bag exploding through the wall of the gym out of his head. Something in the back of his brain was nagging him about it, but he didn't have very long to dwell on things like that right now. Maybe it was because Gohan hadn't questioned it at all, didn't even seem surprised by it, like it was perfectly normal for … normal … and below that, 'Human'... Roane literally shook his head to clear it, deciding that outcome to be ridiculous before he even let the thought fully form.
Unlocking the gate to a separate, field-like area of open storage, Roane stepped back to reveal to them thousands upon thousands of sandbags. He'd ask a few pertinent questions about just how many 'people' they knew of who could withstand a gravitational force of over 550 times Earth's at a later point. Right now he had a different point to make.
When working with a normal sized unit, could take years to be able to read each of the dozens of men well, and that was provided they all stayed stationed underneath you that whole time. In this situation, interacting with only Gohan and Mirai for the last six months had definitely sped up the process. Both of the men were tough and incredibly knowledgeable, but Roane could visibly see the difference in how they reacted to the introduction of emotional stress. Gohan was like a rock in a river, feeling the push of it for sure, but ultimately letting it wash over him. If he had a breaking point, Roane hadn't found it yet.
Mirai on the other hand, seemed to have a rather stoic demeanor, but the man internalized everything. He didn't act like he clung to the wounds of his past, in fact it was almost like whatever happened had been shoved to the furthest reaches of his mind, and never dealt with properly. So when it did bubble up for some reason, the man was not prepared to handle it. That was the kind of thing that got you killed on the battlefield. Or even worse, got other people killed when you lost focus. Guilt could eat a man alive quicker than any animal or disease.
Watching as the two of them sluggishly moved sandbags into a wall-like shape, he thought about how far they'd come in some ways, and how far they still had to go in others. He'd only pushed them until they physically collapsed a few times, but today was definitely going to be one of those days. He also kept an eye open for any other opportunities to goad Mirai. He didn't enjoy playing "the bad guy," but life was like that, in the real world, it liked to kick you when you were down sometimes. Or a lot of the time, depending on who you were and how much stock you put in things like luck and fate.
Gohan's lungs burned. Every breath was filled with fire, and he felt like he was going to pass out at any moment. He carried the sandbag in an odd position, because those were the muscles with the least amount of cramps in them. Roane hadn't told them how wide or high to make the "wall" when they started, which was basically a signal to them that they were going to keep building until they couldn't anymore, length and width be damned. Gohan shook his head a little as he began to see the black speckles that immediately preceded his passing out. Bending over with his head down around his waist for a few breaths helped, but he knew it would only be for so long.
Two more sandbags later, they began enveloping his vision again, and this time bending over and breathing didn't help. Gohan landed with a thud against the ground, and Mirai looked soon to follow. It was obviously sheer will that kept him on his feet at this point. Normally, he'd be the one to hit the dirt first, even if not by much.
"Private Briefs" Roane shouted at him, "That is the sorriest, most god-awful excuse for a wall that I've seen in a long time."
"I'm sorry, sir. Would you like me to start over?" Mirai asked resolutely, panting and bent forward enough to lock his elbows and support some of his upper body's weight on his knees. That actually made Roane chuckle with the absurdity of it.
"No, Private, that's enough for now. I'll have you both re-do it correctly tomorrow. Get him out of here so I can lock this place back up" he said with a wave to Gohan's prostrate form.
"Yes sir."
Trudging over to Gohan, Mirai took a deep breath and let it out slowly, visualizing himself picking up the man without collapsing... To his surprise, he was able to sort of sling him over his back, using one of Gohan's arms over his shoulder to steady his weight. After a few seconds of breathing heavily and watching his drops of sweat make little poofs in the powdery dirt below him, and he felt ready to take a step. He had only managed four of them when he heard Roane's voice again.
"Do you love him?" he asked Mirai quietly, from off to the side where the man wouldn't be able to see him.
"Yes. Of course" Mirai panted, his step faltering a little when he had to breath and speak at the same time.
"You know, there are some people who think there's no place for love on the battlefield, inside a soldiers' heart. The general theory being that it makes a man weak, prone to distraction" Roane paused to see Mirai's reaction, and to his surprise, the man took the effort to speak.
"Do you believe that?" Mirai genuinely wondered. With all he'd been through today, that statement suddenly put Roane's motives in question for him, and he really needed to know what was going on in his sergeant's mind right now.
"There are others who say that the bravest, most heroic feats can only be accomplished by someone who has something to fight for" Roane continued, "and from what I've seen, both are right."
Mirai was only about 20 feet from the gate now, but Roane's statement shocked him enough to make him pause.
"What do you mean, how can you think both are right?" he grunted, eyes closed as he concentrated and began moving forward again. They blinked open again after a few steps, making sure he was still headed in line with the exit.
"It depends on the man" Roane informed him. "Some, when they reach the crux of a situation, crumble and give in to defeat when they think they've failed their loved ones. Others, rise above and use the fact that they love as a reason to hold on to the last breath, to fight beyond the normal limits of body and mind. So you see, it isn't loving or not that tips a battle, it's the choice of how you let it affect you that does. Are you going to let him make you stronger, or be just another burden?"
Mirai's mind was in such a whirl that he didn't realize Roane had asked him a question right away. He started to pause again, but Roane had come up beside him as he approached the gate and motioned for him to continue moving.
"Actually, don't try to answer that now. Think of it as a homework assignment for the length of your punishments. At the end of these two weeks, you can tell me which kind of man you're going to be" Roane paused, looking Mirai in the eye, "and I'll tell you if I think you're right or not."
Even with sweat running off his forehead, and being bent at an odd angle to carry Gohan, Mirai nodded solemnly, receiving a returning nod of acknowledgment. As Mirai finally passed through the gate, Roane rolled it shut behind them, locking it back up securely and putting away the keys.
"Alright, you're dismissed for the day" was the last thing he said to him before turning and heading back to his own room. He wasn't sure if he was expecting to hear the thud of Mirai collapsing on the spot or not... After a few moments of no sound reaching him though, he just had to look back and make completely sure. A smile flashed across his face as he saw the silhouette of Mirai carrying Gohan making it's way back toward the barracks, and he had a feeling they wouldn't be needing that whole two weeks in order to come to a mutual decision.